Death of Limerick Man, Frank Ryan

Death of Frank Ryan, prominent Irish republican and anti-fascist, occurs on June 10, 1944, in Dresden, Germany. Born in Limerick in 1902, Ryan was a former member of the IRA and later a leading figure in the Republican Congress, a left-wing breakaway movement.

In 1936, at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Ryan organized and led a group of around 200 Irish volunteers to fight on the side of the Spanish Republic against General Francisco Franco and fascism. These men formed part of the International Brigades, specifically the Connolly Column, named after Irish socialist James Connolly.

Captured in 1938, Ryan was imprisoned and later transferred to Nazi Germany under unclear circumstances. Though he remained a committed anti-fascist, he spent his final years in Germany under surveillance, cut off from the cause he had championed.

Frank Ryan is remembered as a controversial and courageous figure, emblematic of Irish involvement in international anti-fascist struggles.